Nine individuals have been arrested in connection with the gang-rape of a 19-year-old woman by 23 people over six days in Varanasi, a senior police official confirmed on Wednesday.
The accused allegedly drugged the woman and moved her across multiple hotels and hookah bars during the ordeal, which spanned from March 29 to April 4.
Additional Commissioner of Police, Cantonment, Vidush Saxena, stated, “Nine persons have been arrested in the case so far. Police teams are conducting searches to nab the other accused, and they will be arrested soon.”
He added that the survivor is stable, and authorities remain in contact with her family. The family, however, declined to speak to the media, with the survivor’s mother saying, “Whatever information you want, you can talk to the police and take it from the police station.”
According to officials, the woman left home with some youths on March 29. Her family reported her missing on April 4 after she failed to return.
Initially, upon her rescue by police, she did not disclose the assaults. It was only on April 6 that her family lodged a formal complaint alleging gang-rape, prompting the registration of a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The FIR names 12 accused—Raj Vishwakarma, Sameer, Ayush, Sohail, Danish, Anmol, Sajid, Zahir, Imran, Jaib, Aman, and Raj Khan—along with 11 unidentified individuals.
The survivor detailed her harrowing experience to the police, alleging that between March 29 and April 4, the accused took her to various hotels and hookah bars, where she was repeatedly raped. Her mother’s complaint provides a chilling timeline of events. On March 29, the woman visited a friend’s house but encountered Raj Vishwakarma, who allegedly took her to his café in Lanka and assaulted her with another friend. The following day, Sameer and a companion reportedly raped her on a highway and abandoned her at Nadesar.
On March 31, Ayush, along with Sohail, Danish, Anmol, Sajid, and Zahir, allegedly forced her to consume intoxicants at the Continental Café in Sigra before raping her. On April 1, Sajid and others took her to a hotel, where she was assaulted again; later, Imran allegedly raped her after drugging her, abandoning her outside when she screamed.
On April 2, Raj Khan attempted to assault her on his roof in Hukulganj after drugging her, but she was left at Assi Ghat following her cries. On April 3, Danish, Sohail, Shoaib, and others allegedly raped her in a friend’s room before leaving her near Chowkghat. She returned home on April 4 and confided in her family.
The arrests mark a significant step in the investigation, with police intensifying efforts to apprehend the remaining suspects in this shocking case that has gripped Varanasi.